1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and relates in particular to an imaging apparatus that is capable of detecting an incline of the imaging apparatus, and of accurately displaying an incline guide image, which corresponds to an information of the incline thereof, upon a screen of an image display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times, an advance in a miniaturization and a weight reduction with respect to an imaging apparatus, such as a digital camera, has allowed the imaging apparatus to be carried more portably, and used more easily, in a variety of locales than was heretofore possible. A function of a digital camera has also been embedded into such a device as a cellular phone.
Given that the miniaturization and the weight reduction that is a condition of an imaging apparatus that incorporates such a digital camera, and given that a possession of the imaging apparatus thereof is maintained on a possessor's person, it is by no means guaranteed that a photograph will be taken with such a digital camera being in a stable direction. As a consequence of such a circumstance, an incline is likely to occur within an image that is even harder to notice when the image is photographed than under a more conventional circumstance thereof.
On the other hand, a circumstance may also arise wherein a photograph is taken by way of a deliberately inclined composition, as an actual photographic technique of an imaging apparatus. In addition, a circumstance may also arise with respect to an imaging direction, wherein a composition is not limited to a horizontal direction, i.e., a landscape view, and a vertical direction, i.e., a portrait view, may be employed as well.
In any such event, it is desirable for the imaging apparatus to comprise a function that makes a photographer aware of an incline of an image, such as by detecting an incline of the imaging apparatus when taking a photograph, and displaying an angle of the incline thereof upon a monitor screen.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2004-343476 discloses an imaging apparatus that detects an incline of a still image when acquiring the still image, corrects the incline of the still image as necessary by way of a post-processing by recording an information that denotes the incline thereof thus detected together with the still image upon a recording medium, thereby accurately reflecting an intent of a user thereof, and facilitating a proper correction of an incline of a result of the imaging by the imaging apparatus.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2007-174156 discloses an imaging apparatus wherein is installed a photography mode that supports either a moving picture or a still picture, and only when a display of an incline is requested when in the still picture photography mode, an incline guide display signal is generated from the incline information thus detected, the incline guide display signal thus generated is transmitted thereby to a display processing circuit, and an incline guide display is displayed upon a screen that displays an image thus imaged by the imaging apparatus.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 3,896,505 discloses an imaging apparatus that detects a direction of a camera by way of a direction detection device that is installed into the camera, displays, upon a screen that displays an image thus imaged by the imaging apparatus, a horizontal baseline of the camera and an incline information that changes in a manner that is dependent upon a direction of the camera, simultaneously with the image thus imaged by the imaging apparatus, and facilitates a correction of an incline of the camera by allowing the photographer to compare the respective displays thereupon.
It is to be understood that a level, i.e., a container that contains a gas bubble within a fluid body, and which may be installed using a hot shoe of an imaging apparatus that incorporates a digital camera, is available for sale in an appropriate market.
With respect to such an imaging apparatus as described herein, however, i.e., with respect to the imaging apparatus that is disclosed according to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2004-343476, as an instance thereof, while a cylindrical display unit is employed with regard to a display screen thereof to display the incline thereof, an accuracy of the detection of the incline thereof is fixed, and thus, even if the accuracy of the detection of the incline thereof were to be increased, it would not be possible to display a corresponding information that would result therefrom.
In addition, with regard to the respective imaging apparatus that is disclosed according to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2007-174156 and Japanese Patent No. 3,896,505, a configuration is employed therein whereby the user is made aware of the direction of the imaging apparatus by making the user aware of an incline of a photographic image or a composite image, which, while useful in allowing the photographer to intuitively ascertain the direction of the imaging apparatus thereof, does not allow displaying a magnitude of the incline of the imaging apparatus with a high degree of accuracy.